Time to liven this place up a little bit.

Everyone post up a picture of your first turkey, year, and some info about the hunt when you get the chance.

I killed my first bird in 1992 or 1993 when I was 12 or 13. We had hunted turkey a couple times the year before with no luck, but we really did not have any birds to hunt much because they had just in the past 5 years restocked them in our parts of TN. We roosted the bird the evening before across a huge creek that we had to put our waders on and cross. The next mornign we set up and the bird pitched down and walked right in up a steep ridge to where I introduced him to my 10 gauge. Ain't checked up since then and get it a little worse every year.

No way thats Yekrut. That person dont weigh 150 lbs soaking wet with a box of Krispy Kremes in each pocket.

Shut up and post a picture you thread hijacker before I come down there and hit you in the face with a stick.

LOL! I have to find the pic. I didnt get hooked on turkeys till late. My first was 2001.

I dont think I even have mine. It was around 6 years ago.

I lost alot of photos on the last computer. BC might have it.

I'd give anything to find a picture of my first one........Jake fan, nubs for spurs, and a 9" beard.

3toe post that pic of you again with your little boy when he looks like he's trying to keep from pissing himself. That's one of the best turkey pics I've seen on here

Ha! That was my first turkey. Didnt know I ever posted it. I had it made into a pot call. That may have been what I posted. I'll see if I can find it.

I saw this guy and some other jakes fly down in a pasture (I actually thought they were hens). After watching them for a while I heard a gobbler on another mountain so I moved to get closer. For some reason this one followed me, got about 30 yards away and started chirping.He really wanted to die so I felt I had no choice but to oblige.

Here is the first one.

I believe it was April the 4th...was definitely 2011. I drove up to Jackson County and went with my pal BrentM. We got on 2 birds gobbling good together that we believed were ones he and another guy had coming across a pasture a few days before and a 4 wheeler ran them off. Brent proceeded to call them right in after they settled down from a coyote that we spooked running right up under them in the tree. The way they came in, I could only see their heads and had no idea they were jakes with the way they were gobbling. Brent saw they were jakes but didn't tell me and gave me the green light to shoot. That was the moment that I lost my mind and good sense.

1987, hurtsboro al, called in 2 loners and thought they were 50 yds but "risked" a shot - they were 30. Still the longest beard I have killed - 12".

Dang Ned he didnt ask for pics of all your kills.

Great pics guys, keep them coming.

We looking at turkey pics or what?

My first came in March of 2011. I had kinda turkey hunting a time or 2 over the years but really didn't have a clue what I was doing and this year I decided to get serious about it. I had hunted a few morning with no luck and left work a little early one evening and got set up on a planted logging road in some pines. I called a little every 15 minutes and after about 45 min I 2 jakes coming up the ridge right to my single hen decoy I had set about 15 yards in front of my. I've been addicted ever since.

How about a pic of my first longbeard instead? I don't think any pics were made of my first gobbler; I have one of my second, but its on the wall, It was a double with my dad, and one pic that I don't want to lose.

The one in my right hand is my first longbeard at age 16; the one in my left hand was a bonus jake. They had bonus rules back in those days.

I was just picking Ned.


Steve, what were these bonus rules you speak of?

Yeah, we need to bring back these bonus rules.

Wait...you mean it ain't legal to kill 2 in a day? Well I'll be.

Is there any way to make these bonus rules retroactive for those of us that may have missed out?
I've been wondering if anybody on here has been at it long enough to produce a black and white picture of their first one.

Troy or bigjack are our only hope for a black and white I'm afraid Brent.

Forgot about BigJack. I wasn't thinking Troy was any older than Steve but he probably killed three or four with a rock when he was a toddler so maybe one of them will date back to the B&W era

Troy has probably killed one with a pop gun while he was still in diapers.

I'll try to post a pic of mine,I got a Polaroid of it somewhere,it was 1989,I was 9 years old,my dad,his friend and I stopped by a big cornfield one day and dad spotted him across the field strutting,he came back to the truck and got me and put a 2 3/4" #7 dove load in his browning 12 ga.,we crawled up to the edge of the field and I was sitting kinda in his lap because he had to help hold the gun up because it was too heavy for me,we fooled with the bird and he came in strutting and wouldn't break strut so I went ahead and shot him prolly 15 yards away,can't remember the weight but he was a two year old and had a good 11 3/4" beard.I still get just as pumped now when I kill one as I did then,there's nothing like it,I never get tired of going and it never gets old.

Had to take a picture of a picture so not the best quality. First fall season that Tennessee had, my dad and I set up in a little food plot and had 30 or so jakes and hens come out. Daddy was going to let me shoot first, so I picked out the biggest jake and smoked him when he raised his and. I also smoked his budd who was standing right behind him that I couldnt see. It took me a few seconds to figure out why daddy didnt shoot til I saw the second one flopping.

I've forgotten exactly how they worked; maybe 49er can do a cut and paste job from some old archives.

Don't be getting him over here too

I agree, when I read that all I could think about was pages of crap that I will never read.

I think he has enough people blocked now that he doesn't even know most of the forums on here exist anymore, which is very nice I might add.

Mine came this past season on 25 April 2012 (my 28th birthday)....My dad and I fooled with 3 different birds for the first hour of daylight but lost the battle to live hens....After walking around for a couple hours looking for another one....we struck one about 200 yards away around 9 am....7 mintues later, I killed my first bird...

Those mid morning birds are the ticket. If you can strike one up between 9-11 and get in a good position its game on.


Great picture, even blocked out your face.

Thanks! I didn't want to blind y'all with my beauty!

4-13-03 - this was my first bird. Snuck up on him in a hayfield.

Last I checked, PCP was a wiz with photoshop - he colorized that photo - isn't that a 1940-something pontiac in the background looking awfully new?

Nah if he was that good he would have drawn in a beard and some spurs on that jake too and claimed a longbeard bonus.

My first turkey that I killed just outside Vicksburg, MS. I don't remember the exact date. I think it was 1986 or 1987. I know I had hunted hard for several years and messed up many opportunities to kill a bird. I killed this one and several more with my Remington 1100 12 ga shooting 2 3/4" Remington Duplex 2x6's.



My son's first turkey. He killed his on March 28, 2012 in Jackson county. He killed his with his Remington 1187 20 ga shooting Hevi 7s.

>>>Last I checked, PCP was a wiz with photoshop - he colorized that photo - isn't that a 1940-something pontiac in the background looking awfully new?<<<

No photoshop program on my computer. That pic was made in 1970, and probably the only reason it was in color was because my dad's company had bought him an expensive camera to use in his job. That's also his co car, though I think its a Plymouth.

I wouldn't have drawn a long beard on the jake - the law was for a bonus jake, not a bonus longbeard. Or maybe it was a bonus scaup that the reg book mentioned; I always thought a scaup and a jake were the same thing. They are, aren't they?

Nice pics from you other guys!

Has anyone else ever killed 2 or more in one shot, whether it be accidental or on purpose?

I've done it twice.....Once a few years ago in Missouri and once year before last with TWinters. Both times it was a total accident.
I tried to do it on purpose one time back in my misspent youth and had two big gobblers at twenty yards that looked like their heads were almost touching each other.......put the bead right between them and pulled the trigger. One of them fell out dead and the other one ran off. I'll never figure out how I kept from killing both of them.

I have killed two on two different occasions in Nebraska. One resulted in a run down.

JUGHEAD's head dont look all that big.

It was cold that day and he had been in the pool.

I appreciate that pal....you might have just become my new best friend. Want to come turkey hunting with me?

YEP!!


I wanted to go with YEKRUT but Ive got several PM's from people telling me he is all talk and never kills one. I want to kill one if I go.

BAM! I don't even know you, but anybody that talks smack to YEKRUT is instantly a pal of mine.

I just typed a long response to this question, thought the better of it, and deleted it. My official answer is no comment.

If you hunt long enough, it will probably happen by accident sooner or later. You have to be careful about taking your shots or it will happen sooner instead of later.

I have had many chances to kill 2 with one shot on purpose, and also chances when I could have killed 3, and even 4. I'm glad the AL law is one a day. Allowing multiple kills in one day would have a noticeable effect on the gobbler population, far more than the 5 per season limit does.

You boys who grew up around turkeys don't know how lucky you are. I went on my first turkey hunt in 1986 and saw my first wild turkey after I was already the father of 2 children. It took another 10 years to actually kill one. I try not to go so long between turkeys anymore...

How right you are. I started turkey hunting in 1983 and it was 3 or 4 years before I killed one. My 11 year old son killed 3 turkeys in 9 trips this year and this was his first full year to turkey hunt.

My first was in 2011 after 7 long years of trying to kill one on skyline I had a work friend take me on his club and he called him up for me. I'll never forget how awesome it was. For the record those skyline birds have a Harvard degree I believe.

Some of those WMA birds about all you need to take is a turkey wing and your hand. Use much else and they head for the next WMA.

I still have not killed my first bird, therefor no pics

Skyline is so big, it's hard to kill a turkey in Jackson County that hasn't spent at least part of his life on it.

Aw hell, ya'll don't belive this guy. I saw a string of spurs on his truck mirror today so long and sharp they looked like they belonged to about 30 fighting roosters. Personally, I think he mail ordered them.

EBay I heard

Y'all ain't into roosters? We have them every where on my lease

3toes nickname is "rooster fish"

"Rooster fish?" Really? I was thinking more like "sucker fish"

Same difference, a sucker is a fish.

From what I hear is is well at it if he cannot find a blank outta this box, he ain't got a pair.... Yep I am picking on ya Ned. Teach you to go to sleep



Yek, can I go with you and BH opening weekend so I might get my first shot??

Naaa, what we are going to do to the turkey population does not need to be witnessed by someone who has not killed one before, it could scar them for life.

AKA, we do not want you to see how bad we suck....

Says the man trying to rid himself of a virgin 20 gauge turkey gun with 10 seasons under its belt.

Would these be the roosters in question? And yes ebay is my friend

10 seasons? I've only owned it 2 years and its been on 1 measly deer hunt....All my 20 gauge turkey kills will come via a Benelli M2 topped with a Burris Fastfire III slinging TSS!

Basser, them look like fighting chickens to me, best not get caught with them things.

This will be year four trying and I still don't have one. Maybe I will get one this year.

You guys crack me up over here on AL Deer...

Best turkey community on the net.

Yep...I can't ever remember hanging around a better community of turkeys.

You know what I was meaning.



Just for reference I wasn't referring to you.

I know what you meant. I just took it as an opportunity to call ya'll a bunch of turkeys. You sat it up on a tee and I knocked it out of park.

Please save me at least one down there.

Brandon, I couldn't find your first bird pic. I looked on all my pic files and couldn't locate it. I remember taking the picture under that old shed and you me and the bird were soaking wet from the thunderstorms that afternoon.

I don't have any pics of my first bird. I was walking back to the truck after strking out and walked into a flock of turkeys. There had to be 20 - 30 of them, and as best I could tell every single one of them were jakes. I lit one of them up and birds all around me went airborne. I thought I was a goner for sure. My dad never took pictures back in those days, so it's just a distant memory for me. Wish I had a few from back then. The only pic I have from when I was young is a picture of an 8 point I killed when I was 12. Mom took those for me.

Thanks for looking, It wasnt that good of a picture. That was a rough weekend of hunting.

Every story I've read involving you 2 sounds rough. Reconsidering hooking up with ya'll in the early season....

That just sounds wrong

You ain't been around long enough yet pal. You keep running with this bunch in here and you'll start hearing stories about the minivan mafia. BC and n2deer are wanting to become members pretty bad which is why they've invited me to come hunting with them in March.

I have a minivan but the wife uses it on a mail route.
It looks like its been drove through a thicket in texas and is dented to crap and its right hand drive with usps magnets all over it.

It should fit right in.

Jug, I been an aldeer stalker for years. I just never could get signed on. Felt like someone hit the ban button on me.

Ah, Ok. Well then...you shouldn't be surprised about the fact that me, n2deer, and BC are gonna be hooking up.

It's all in good fun just make sure ya got thick skin is what I was told!

You turkey hunters are as silly as a gaggle of geese.

Though it won't totally come to me, I'm reminded about some old saying...something about a pot and a kettle.

I think I know what you mean. Heres an illustration so YEKRUT can understand.





YEKRUT Im sorry man, weve derailed the piss outta your thread.

All the turkey forum threads get derailed in the off season, there's not enough activity here to keep more than one going seems like so one thread will kinda collect all the turkey traffic. I'm just glad there are a few people posting on the turkey forum.
I was just thinking yesterday about 8-9 weeks and we'll start seeing some red maples come out and then some elms about ten days later. Few days after that poplars will bud out and it will be time for turkeys to start gobbling.
Now this thread is really derailed.

Start gobbling? They were gobbling as of 2 weeks ago at out club. It makes deer hunting really had when they are making all that noise

Yall are sure making me want to stay off the water this spring and see what the fuss is all about. I want to go and let my buddy call me one up and kill it and be done with it just to say i did. I spend enough time and $$ in the woods on deer so im not going to make a habit out of it. How do yall think that will work out for me?

Being on the water during the spring is for SUCKERS! Been there, done that, fought the Kevin VanDam wannabe dumb arses, and got the t-shirt. Why in the world somebody would want to be fishing during the spring these days with all of the stupid arse tournament crap instead of being ALONE (other than the Lord or a good pal of course) in the tranquil, beautiful spring woods is absolutley BEYOND me.

Well i saltwater fish mostly so theres that. Plenty of idiots out there to though. I guess I feel about flounder like you do about turkeys. Nothing on this planet makes me as happy as an icechest full of door mats. Whether gigged or caught.

Ah...I see. That's little more understandable then....a lot more room to spread out and if there is succulent table fare involved (love me some flounder!) then you get a pass....a little bit.

Dont listen to him.

Dont start turkey hunting, you one day will regret it. In fact I dont think im going this year.

Can I have your turkey stuff when you quit?

Is it sorta like "Im gonna try meth once just to see what its like"

more like herione than meth

Not going turkey hunting.....having a signature about how much you love your wife.....can't put my finger on what it is, but something is bad wrong with you pal.

Yea, my wife did that one day when I stayed logged on. I just havent changed it. Perhaps she has just assumed my screen name on occasions. I dont remember writing that.



I might need it one day when I have a relapse. Ever junkie has a relapse right.

Seriously, I hope they change my schedule at work before then, I will be a mad man trying to work 60 hours ever week and hunt ever day available. I already told them dont be surprised if I use 30 hrs of vacation during turkey season if they dont change it.

Stay on the water. We don't need any more turkey hunters. We can manage it just fine.

And thats the other thing, yall turkey hunters are selfish bastards. Even if its on land yall will never get to hunt yall dont want anyone else to either.

There aint no turkeys in Alabama. Keep chasing them doormats

I'm a rookie at all this, but as I understand it....there are good turkey hatches and bad turkey hatches. Things go in cycles so a man has to do what he can to ensure he has some turkeys to hunt even in the down times. I think the Lord will passover selfishness in this particular instance....this is some serious stuff.

Damn straight.

I'll post a pic of my first bird later tonight. I passed up and screwed up a bunch of jakes and gobblers before I finally killed one. I was determined to kill one by myself with no help and I'm sure that is why it took as long as it did.

I needed all the help I could get still took me several years. My problem was myself though. I get tore up, half the time I wasn't aiming at the the head, more like the bird. I got so tore up I couldn't think straight. I should have killed 8-10 before I finally did, Had a bunch within 30 yards just always screwed it up.

Sorry I don't have a pic of my first bird, bushwhacked his butt on a food plot. Not do I have a pic of my 2nd bird but a cool story i do have. Hunting at our old place in Jackson county (la hunting club) I started out on the powerline chased turkey all morning and ended up on what we called the back 80 or about say 3 mountain miles from where I started. Low and behold my dad was there too and we just happen to meet up. I walked the whole way and thank God he drove his atv from where he was hunting. Long story short dad called the bird in for me and I smoked him. 19 lbs and 10.5 inch beard. On the way back to atv we heard a loud boom and the ground shook, we didn't know what the heck was going on. Thought nothing of it and drove back to camp then on home. Later that afternoon there was a small earth quake up that way. Dad called a geologist the next day and what we felt was a pre-quake. They said it had basically happened right underneath us. Sorry for no pic but this one from my honey hole will have to do
Please forgive me

demp, I hate you!

:), there are 3 less in that group but there were about 5 super jakes that will replace them.

Congrats on your girl !

Thanks man and happy birthday again!

Ol single shot 410

I'm not a turkey hunter. But I saw where micheal Waddell killed a world record jake? I thought that was just a little gobbler?

here is a pic of my first tom. From 4/10/98. From the first time I ever heard a wild turkey gobble, I was in love. I began reading everything I could find concerning turkeys and quickly became more involved in my obsession, even before i'd killed my first bird. I was just a kid and had no one in my family that hunted but I knew my neighbor did. One day, I found the courage to walk over and ask my neighbor if he would take me turkey hunting. That simple conversation started a lifelong friendship with the best man I have ever known: Britt Spears. He took me hunting every chance we could go that season and basically sacrificed his season for me. On April 10 1998, I called my first bird up in a pasture at 11am in Greene county with Britt. We both were in tears as we stood over the bird.
Britt took me again and on 4/21/98 I killed my second longbeard on an early morning 5 minute flash hunt. Since that year, I have never killed less than 2 turkeys per year. The most rewarding thing I do now is take Britt hunting and attempt to call him up a tom. We have killed quite a few together. I took him to Ky a couple years ago and watched as he killed his first 2 toms out of state. We called 2 up together the second morning and it was my turn to shoot. As the gobblers stood there at 30 yds in the hardwoods, I told him I wasn't gonna shoot. He couldn't believe it. He finally got his 10 guage in position and he killed one of his best toms ever. I told him I get more out of watching him shoot than He could ever imagine.

until

I didn't turkey hunt until a couple of years ago. Two buddies tag team called this one up for me in Autauga Co. I've killed a few since then and actually enjoy hunting turkey more than deer.





My first solo kill from last year.

Nice pics and stories, guys!